We all love the music of Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. But the history of blind Black musicians might go all the way back to Egypt and the cult of Horus, the god who lost his eye in a fight with his brother.
#1: Blind Boy Fuller: Fulton Allen got his start playing guitar and singing for coins in North Carolina, because it was one of the few ways a Black man losing his eyesight could earn a living. After an agent for local blues musicians offered to become his manager, “Blind Boy Fuller” recorded 130 songs. His “Red River Blues” and “Step Up and Go” are blues classics.
#2: Blind Lemon Jefferson: Not many details are known about Blind Lemon Jefferson, but his virtuosity on the guitar impressed the young Huddie Ledbetter, who became famous as Leadbelly. The two performed together across East Texas. Leadbelly, Bessie Smith, T-Bone Walker, Louis Armstrong, and the Beatles have all mentioned Blind Lemon Jefferson as a significant influence on their music.
#3: Blind Willie Johnson: The gospel blues music of Blind Willie Johnson is literally out of this world. His melody about the Crucifixion, “Dark Was the Night—Cold Was the Ground,” was included with works by Beethoven and Chuck Berry on a phonograph record carried by NASA’s Voyager, to introduce any extraterrestrials to his music.
Like these blind blues musicians, all of us have special gifts. How are you using yours to bring us closer to Black liberation?